Will Michels- "In My Bathroom – 10.15.1995 – 8:30pm"
© Will Michels-
In 1991, Will Michels began applying to fellowship, scholarship and residency programs for artists. For the applications, the artist began to develop a unified body of work on self-portraiture. In an effort to unify the exploration of self imagery, he made a conscious decision to include his head in every frame. However, his deep aversion to his own image became an exercise in avoiding the camera’s gaze.
Will’s Self-Portraits formally began with the Friday series. Taken immediately after waking and holding the camera at arm’s length, he faithfully shot three rolls of film each Friday morning for a period of eight months in 1994, amassing an archive of more than 1,000 negatives.
These images are about lines: formal compositional application of line as well as imaginary explorations on lines of privacy. Photographing himself in his bedroom, later in his bathroom and eventually his bed, Will discovered physical and emotional spaces of increased intimacy and vulnerability.
He continues to make self-portraits on important days. In my room, the day My Friend Tim Died, February2, 2003 and After the Allergy Test (1993) memorialize and record physical and emotional happenings in the artist’s life.
–by Madeline Yale, Former Director at Houston Center for Photography
Will Michels- "In My Bathroom – 10.15.1995 – 8:30pm"
© Will Michels-
In 1991, Will Michels began applying to fellowship, scholarship and residency programs for artists. For the applications, the artist began to develop a unified body of work on self-portraiture. In an effort to unify the exploration of self imagery, he made a conscious decision to include his head in every frame. However, his deep aversion to his own image became an exercise in avoiding the camera’s gaze.
Will’s Self-Portraits formally began with the Friday series. Taken immediately after waking and holding the camera at arm’s length, he faithfully shot three rolls of film each Friday morning for a period of eight months in 1994, amassing an archive of more than 1,000 negatives.
These images are about lines: formal compositional application of line as well as imaginary explorations on lines of privacy. Photographing himself in his bedroom, later in his bathroom and eventually his bed, Will discovered physical and emotional spaces of increased intimacy and vulnerability.
He continues to make self-portraits on important days. In my room, the day My Friend Tim Died, February2, 2003 and After the Allergy Test (1993) memorialize and record physical and emotional happenings in the artist’s life.
–by Madeline Yale, Former Director at Houston Center for Photography